Network device manager

ABSTRACT

Resource information and status information concerning devices connected to a network is acquired and the information is stored in memory. Icons that are capable of identifying the types of devices connected to the network based upon the stored resource information and status of utilization of the devices that is based upon the stored status information are displayed in combination on a display unit. In order to select (S 504 , S 505 , S 506 ) either one or both of the resource information and status information and update this information, a device for which information is to be updated is specified from among the displayed icons. Both the resource information and status information, or whichever information has been selected, of the device that has been specified is acquired and the information in memory is updated (S 507 ) based upon this information. Either or both of resource information and status information concerning a device designated on a network by a user can be acquired and the information can be updated.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.09/793,915, filed Feb. 28, 2001, the entire disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a data processing apparatus capable ofcommunicating data with network-connected personal computers and variousperipherals, a method of data processing using this apparatus, and astorage medium storing a computer-readable program for data processing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Computers and their peripherals such as printers, scanners and digitalcameras have proliferated rapidly in recent years and so have networkssuch as LANs. There is also increasing need to share printers, modemsand image readers over networks. Sharing peripherals such as printersand scanners over a network makes possible an environment in which awide variety of devices can be used on a network.

When information concerning personal computers and peripherals isacquired and displayed, status information is acquired at the same timeas resource information. As a consequence, acquiring the informationtakes time. In particular, since resource information for identifyingsuch specifics as the type of a device and its capabilities often ismuch larger in quantity than status information that is for identifyingthe status of utilization of a device, acquiring the resourceinformation is especially time consuming. For example, there areinstances where, because of printer malfunction, the user wishes toacquire only information relating to the printer malfunction, and thereare instances where the user wishes to enter an image and thereforedesires only the latest status of scanner utilization (statusinformation) concerning solely the scanners on a network in order tosearch for a scanner that is not presently in use. In such cases it isdesirable to update only the particular device of interest and thedesired information so that the user may acquire the necessaryinformation more rapidly. However, the present state of the art is suchthat all available devices or all available items of information areacquired and presented to the user, as a result of which a great deal oftime is needed to acquire the information that is desired. An attendantproblem is that providing this information to the user places a heavyload upon the network.

Further, in a case where a shared peripheral has been connected locallyto a personal computer on a network, the information acquired from thisperipheral is of two kinds, namely first information held by the driverprogram running on the personal computer and second information held bythe peripheral. If the second information of the peripheral is to beacquired, therefore, it is required that this be performed via theprogram of the personal computer to which the peripheral has beenconnected. As a consequence, acquiring this information takes longerthan acquiring the first information.

Thus, the time needed to acquire information from a shared peripheral islong or short depending upon the information to be acquired. The problemwhich arises is that information cannot be acquired efficiently.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is proposed to solve the foregoing problems of theprior art and its object is to provide a data processing apparatus andmethod in which the user designates a desired device of interest (e.g.,a personal computer, a peripheral or a group comprising a personalcomputer and peripherals) and specifies information to be acquiredconcerning the device, thereby making it possible to ascertain morerapidly only information of interest concerning a device of interestneeded by the user, as a result of which operating efficiency isimproved and network load alleviated.

According to the present invention, the foregoing object is attained byproviding a data processing apparatus capable of communicating data withdevices connected to a network, comprising: acquisition-means foracquiring resource information and status information concerning thedevices connected to the network; storage means for storing the acquiredinformation in memory; display control means for displaying, incombination on a display unit, icons that are capable of identifying thetypes of devices connected to the network based upon the stored resourceinformation, and status of utilization of the devices based upon thestored status information; and specifying means for specifying, from thedisplay of icons, a device to be updated in order to select and updateeither one or both of the resource information and status information;the acquisition means acquiring both the resource information and statusinformation, or whichever information has been selected, of the devicethat has been specified, and the storage means updating the informationin memory based upon the information that has been acquired.

The data processing apparatus preferably further comprises hierarchicalmanagement means for hierarchically managing organization of devicesconnected to the network.

The hierarchical management means performs management on a per-layerbasis, wherein the layers are a first layer comprising peripheralsconnected to personal computers, a second layer comprising the personalcomputers and a third layer comprising workgroups each of which isconstituted by a group of the personal computers.

Preferably, the specifying means specifies the devices individually asdevices for which information is to be updated or specifies devices,which are contained in a layer managed by the hierarchical managementmeans on a per-layer basis, collectively as devices for whichinformation is to be updated.

Preferably, if the third layer has been designated, the specifying meansspecifies, as devices for which information is to be updated, thosepersonal computers constituting the second layer that belong to thethird layer and those peripherals belonging to the first layer that areconnected to these personal computers.

Preferably, the specifying means specifies, as devices for whichinformation is to be updated, a device that belongs to a designatedlayer and a device that belongs to a layer subordinate to this layer.

Preferably, the data processing apparatus further comprises limitingmeans for limiting types of devices, wherein the limiting means limitstypes of devices from devices specified by the specifying means asdevices for which information is to be updated.

Preferably, the devices include any of printers, facsimile machines andscanners.

Further, the foregoing object is attained by providing a data processingmethod comprising: an acquisition step of acquiring resource informationand status information concerning devices connected to a network; astorage step of storing the acquired information in memory; a displaycontrol step of displaying, in combination on a display unit, icons thatare capable of identifying the types of devices connected to the networkbased upon the stored resource information, and status of utilization ofthe devices based upon the stored status information; and a specifyingstep of specifying, from the display of icons, a device to be updated inorder to select and update either one or both of the resourceinformation and status information; the acquisition step acquiring boththe resource information and status information, or whicheverinformation has been selected, of the device that has been specified,and the storage means updating the information in memory based upon theinformation that has been acquired.

The data processing method preferably further comprises a hierarchicalmanagement step of hierarchically managing organization of devicesconnected to the network.

The hierarchical management step performs management on a per-layerbasis, wherein the layers are a first layer comprising peripheralsconnected to personal computers, a second layer comprising the personalcomputers, and a third layer comprising workgroups each of which isconstituted by a group of the personal computers.

Preferably, the specifying step specifies the devices individually asdevices for which information is to be updated or specifies devices,which are contained in a layer managed by the hierarchical managementstep on a per-layer basis, collectively as devices for which informationis to be updated.

Preferably, if the third layer has been designated, the specifyingmethod specifies, as devices for which information is to be updated,those personal computers constituting the second layer that belong tothe third layer and those peripherals belonging to the first layer thatare connected to these personal computers.

Preferably, the specifying step specifies, as devices for whichinformation is to be updated, a device that belongs to a designatedlayer and a device that belongs to a layer subordinate to this layer.

Preferably, the data processing method further comprises a limiting stepof limiting types of devices, wherein the limiting step limits types ofdevices from devices specified by the specifying step as devices forwhich information is to be updated.

Further, the present invention further provides a computer-readablestorage medium storing program modules for computer implementation of adata updating method relating to devices connected to a network, theprogram modules being: an acquisition module for acquiring resourceinformation and status information concerning devices connected to anetwork; a storage module for storing the acquired information inmemory; a display control module for displaying, in combination on adisplay unit, icons that are capable of identifying the types of devicesconnected to the network based upon the stored resource information, andstatus of utilization of the devices based upon the stored statusinformation; and a specifying module for specifying, from the display oficons, a device to be updated in order to select and update either oneor both of the resource information and status information; theacquisition module executing processing for acquiring both the resourceinformation and status information, or whichever information has beenselected, of the device that has been specified, and the storage moduleexecuting processing for updating the information in memory based uponthe information that has been acquired.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate thesame or similar parts throughout the figures thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and,together with the description, serve to explain the principles of theinvention.

FIG. 1 is a diagram useful in describing the configuration of a systemto which an information processing apparatus according to a firstembodiment of the present invention is applied;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram useful in describing the construction of aninformation processing apparatus according to the first embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram useful in describing an example of display of theorganization of devices connected to a network displayed on a CRT;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating example of display of an informationselection menu according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart useful in describing processing according to thefirst embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a diagram useful in describing the concept of a groupaccording to a second embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart useful in describing processing according to thesecond embodiment;

FIG. 8A is a diagram illustrating an example of display of astatus-information selection window according to a third embodiment;

FIG. 8B is a diagram illustrating an example of display of aresource-information selection window according to the third embodiment;and

FIG. 9 is a flowchart useful in describing processing according to thethird embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described indetail in accordance with the accompanying drawings.

First Embodiment

-   -   <Description of Apparatus>

FIG. 1 is a diagram useful in describing the system configuration ofnetwork devices inclusive of a data processing apparatus according tothe present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a printer 102, which has anopen architecture, is connected to a network via a network board (NB)101. The network board 101 is connected to local area networks (LAN)100, 120 and 130 via a LAN interface such as an Ethernet interface10Base-2 having a coaxial connector or a 10Base-T having an RJ-45, etc.

A plurality of personal computers 103, 104, 109, 110, etc., also areconnected to the LANs 100, 130 and are capable of communicating with thenetwork board 101 under the control of a network operating system.Accordingly, one of the personal computers, say personal computer 103,can be used as a personal computer for management of network devices.Further, a printer 105 may be locally connected to the personal computer104 as a local printer.

Further, a personal computer 106 functioning as a file server isconnected to the LAN 100 and manages access to files that have beenstored in a large-capacity network disk 107.

The personal computer 104, which functions as a printer server, managesprinting performed by the locally connected printer 105 or printingperformed by a remote printer 102. Similarly, a personal computer 113,which functions as a printer server, manages printing performed by alocally connected printer 116 or printing performed by the remoteprinter 102.

Furthermore, a personal computer 115 is made to function as a scannerserver and is capable of managing scanners such as a scanner 115connected locally or a remote scanner 108. The scanner 108 is connectedto the LAN 100 via a network board. A digital copier 116 providesprinter and scanner functions under the management and control of animaging processing unit 119.

The network shown in FIG. 1 is capable of using network software such asNovell or UNIX software in order that various network members maycommunicate with one another efficiently. For example, NetWare (aregistered trademark of Novell), which is network software developed byNovell, can be used. For a detailed description of this softwarepackage, refer to the online documentation bundled with the NetWarepackage. (This can be purchased from Novell together with the NetWarepackage.)

Thus, in the first embodiment, in order to perform an operation fordesignating the updating of information of a peripheral device, separatemenu items are provided for a command to update status information andfor a command to update resource information of a peripheral device.

As a result, when the user of a computer terminal on the network is toacquire information from a plurality of peripherals on the network, theuser can issue an information acquisition command that conforms to thekind of information that is to be acquired. As a consequence, thedesired information can be acquired more quickly and the traffic load onthe network can be suppressed.

Further, according to the first embodiment, an example is described inwhich a command for updating status information and a command forupdating resource information are each provided. However, an example ofapplication described below also is covered by the scope of the presentinvention.

If a peripheral on a network has been connected locally to a networkcomputer (referred to as a “host personal computer” below), theinformation acquired from this peripheral is of two kinds, namely firstinformation held by the driver program running on the host personalcomputer and second information held by the peripheral.

Accordingly, a command for updating the first information and a commandfor updating the second information may be provided as separate menuitems.

In order to achieve this, it is required that the computer (referred toas the “user personal computer” below) requesting information concerninga peripheral store beforehand information for identifying whether theinformation to be acquired is held on the side of the host personalcomputer or on the side of the peripheral. To accomplish this, it willsuffice to store table information in the user personal computer,wherein the table information indicates, for each item of informationthat can be acquired, whether the information is held on the side of thehost personal computer or on the side of the peripheral.

If the user personal computer issues a command to update the firstinformation, reference is had to the table, only information held on theside of the host personal computer is selected, and a command to acquireonly the selected information is generated and this command istransmitted to the host personal computer on the network.

If the user personal computer issues a command to update the secondinformation, reference is had to the table, only information held on theside of the peripheral is selected, and a command to acquire only theselected information is generated and this command is transmitted to aplurality of host personal computers on the network.

The host personal computer analyzes the command from the user personalcomputer. If the command is for information held by the host personalcomputer, the latter generates the response information based upon thisheld information and transmits the response information to the userpersonal computer. If the command is for information held on the side ofthe peripheral device, the host personal computer generates the responseinformation by acquiring information from the peripheral device andtransmits the response information to the user personal computer.

The personal computers 103 and 104 are ordinary personal computers whichcan generate data files and transmit the generated data files to the LAN100 or which can receive data files from the LAN 100 and display and/orprocess these files. It should be noted that although personal computersare shown in FIG. 1, other types of computers suitable for the executionof network software may be included in the network. For example, in acase where UNIX software is being employed, UNIX workstations may beconnected to the network and these workstations can be used togetherwith the illustrated personal computers.

The LAN 100 ordinarily provides service to comparatively local usergroups such as user groups on one or several successive floors in onebuilding.

As users become separated from one another, as when users are present indifferent buildings or in different prefectures, a wide-area network(WAN) may be constructed to interconnect them.

A WAN basically is an aggregate of LANs formed by interconnectingseveral LANs by a high-speed digital line such as a high-speedIntegrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) telephone line. For example,as shown in FIG. 1, a WAN is formed by interconnecting the LAN 100 andthe LAN 120 by a backbone 140.

The devices that have been connected to each of the LANs 100, 120 and130 are capable of gaining access to the functions of the devicesconnected to the other LANs via the WAN connection.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram useful in describing the construction of aclient illustrative of this embodiment. It is assumed here that certaindevices (inclusive of a printer, scanner, modem and multifunction imageprocessing unit, etc.) are arranged so as to be capable of communicatingby a predetermined protocol with other locally connected data processingdevices via a communication medium (not shown), e.g., a LAN such asEthernet.

As shown in FIG. 2, a system bus 1 connects various blocks, describedbelow. A CPU (central processing unit) 2 controls the overall apparatus.A program memory (PMEM) 3 selects and reads in a program, which is forexecuting the present processing, from a hard disk 10. The program isexecuted by the CPU 2.

Data that has been entered from a keyboard 12 is stored as codeinformation in the PMEM 3, which serves also as a text memory.

A communication controller 4 controls input/output data at acommunication port 5. A signal output from the communication port 5 istransmitted via a communication line 6 to a communication port ofanother device 7 on the network. Exchange of data among printers andimage readers (scanners) shared over the network is carried out via thecommunication controller 4. Though the description in this embodimentrelates to a network such as a LAN, it goes without saying that thepresent invention is applicable even if the communication port andcommunication line connected to the communication controller 4 areconstituted by an ordinary public telephone line.

An external storage device controller 8 controls access to data-filedisks, e.g., a floppy disk (FD) 9 and a hard disk (HD) 10.

An input controller 11 has input units such as the keyboard 12 and amouse 13 connected thereto. The operator operates the system byoperating the keyboard 12. A pointing device (PD) is used to manipulateimage information on a CRT 16. In this embodiment, the mouse 13 is usedas the pointing device. By moving a cursor at will along the X and Ydirections on the CRT 16, the operator selects command icons on acommand menu to thereby designate processing, designate editing objectsand designate plot positions, etc.

A video image memory (VRAM) 14 stores rendering data (bitmap data)expanded for display by the CRT 16. The content of the VRAM 14 is readout when appropriate via the display output controller 15 and isdisplayed on the CRT 16.

A printer controller 17 controls the output of data to a connectedprinter 18.

An image-reader controller 1A controls the image reading operation of aconnected image reader 1B. An external-device controller 19 controls theprinter controller 17 or the operation of an external device via theimage-reader controller 1A.

The above-mentioned image-reader controller 1A and image reader 1B areessential components in the image reading server according to thisinvention. However, in case of an apparatus on the client side, theidentical shared components on the server side can be used via thecommunication controller 2404 and communication port 5, as set forthabove.

In the present embodiment, the program that has been stored in the ROMmay be stored also on a storage medium such as the hard disk (HD) 10 orfloppy disk (FD) 9 connected directly to the apparatus. Furthermore, theprogram may be stored in another device constructed on the network. Theprogram according to the present invention can be supplied to a systemor apparatus via the storage medium, such as the hard disk 10 or floppydisk 9, or via the network.

-   -   <Acquisition and Display of Resource Information and Status        Information>

Described next will be display of icons performed using resourceinformation and status information concerning various personal computersand peripheral equipment.

Here “resource information” shall be taken to mean information foridentifying device specifics such as device type and capability, and“status information” shall be taken to mean information for identifyingdevice utilization status.

FIG. 3 is a diagram useful in describing first network componentsdisplayed on the CRT 16 shown in FIG. 2. According to this embodiment,the shapes of icons of peripherals are displayed with enhanced featuresin the manner illustrated so that the personal computers and peripheralspresent on the network may be distinguished more easily. Icons 301, 307,310, 311, 317 and 312 are icons indicative of personal computers, icons304, 305, 306, 308, 313, 315 and 318 are icons indicative of printerfunctions, icons 303, 309, 314, 316 and 319 are icons indicative ofscanner functions, and an icon 302 is an icon indicative of digitalcamera function.

Among the icons representing the printer functions, icons 304 and 305are displayed using icons that represent the form of a laser printer;icons 306 and 308 using icons that represent the form of multifunctionprinter; icon 313 using an icon that represents the form of a bubble-jetprinter; icon 315 using an icon that represents the form of an ordinaryprinter; and icon 318 using an icon that represents the form of an MFprinter.

Similarly, among the icons representing image input devices (scannersand a digital camera), icon 302 is displayed as an icon that representsthe form of a digital camera; icon 303 as an icon that represents theform of an ordinary flat-bed scanner; icon 309 as an icon thatrepresents the form of an ADF scanner manufactured by Canon; icon 314 asan icon that represents the form of an ordinary ADF scanner; icon 316 asan icon that represents the form of a flat-bed scanner manufactured byCanon; and icon 318 as an icon that represents the form of a documentscanner manufactured by Canon.

These icons are displayed upon determining the type of each peripheraldevice using resource information acquired from each peripheral device.

Further, topology-type information indicative of personal computers towhich printers are connected and of direct network connections isdisplayed using resource information. However, since these items ofresource information are seldom changed, they constitute information theconstant monitoring of which is deemed unnecessary.

The numerals displayed at the upper right of the icons 304 and 308display status information indicating the number of jobs currentlyawaiting printing by the particular printer. Similarly, the hourglassmarks at the upper right of the icons 303 and 319 display statusinformation indicating that these scanners are currently in use.Further, the mark at the upper right of icon 305 displays statusinformation indicating that this printer is in a temporarily haltedstate, and the mark at the upper right of icon 315 displays statusinformation indicating that this printer is malfunctioning.

Status information is information for detecting peripheral devicesutilizable within limits desired by the user when a peripheral device isto be utilized by the user, and for verifying whether a peripheraldevice that has executed processing is operating normally. Accordingly,unlike resource information, status information is that which requiresthe acquisition and display of the latest information possible.

Acquiring “resource information”, which is information construed tochange very little, and “status information”, which is informationconsidered to change constantly, always at the same time is not veryefficient. A feature of the present invention is to provide means foracquiring these two types of information separately of each other and toupdate and display only the information acquired.

Described next will be a method of acquiring resource information orstatus information individually from designated personal computers andperipherals.

-   -   <Method of Acquiring Resource Information or Status Information        from Personal Computers, Workgroups and Peripherals>

As for methods of designating personal computers and peripherals, anicon being displayed may be designated using a pointing device such as amouse or by using a keyboard. Here the methods are not particularlylimited so long as the desired personal computer or peripheral can bedesignated. Information concerning designated personal computers andperipherals can be updated by providing designation means such as themenu shown in FIG. 4 by way of example. Processing for updating statusinformation is designated by selecting menu item 401, processing forupdating resource information is designated by selecting menu item 402,and processing for updating all information is designated by selectingmenu item 403. It goes without saying that the invention is not limitedto this designation means. As long as status information and resourceinformation can be designated so as to be acquired individually, othertypes of operations such as a keyboard operation will suffice.

It is possible to update only information that is necessary by providingmeans for designating personal computers and peripherals and means fordesignating information that is to be acquired.

Reference will be had to the flowchart of FIG. 5 to describe processingfor designating personal computers and peripherals and for designatinginformation to be acquired. The flowchart illustrates a control programrelating to designation of personal computers and peripherals anddesignation of information desired to be acquired according to thisembodiment. Processing is executed by the CPU 2 based upon the programstored on the hard disk 10 shown in FIG. 2 or on a storage medium thatis not shown.

Step S501 in FIG. 5 calls for a decision as to whether or notinformation update processing has been specified. If such processing hasbeen specified (“YES” at step S501), control proceeds to step S502. Ifsuch processing has not been specified (“NO” at step S501), theprocessing of this flowchart is exited.

The personal computer or peripheral for which information update hasbeen specified is determined at step S502 by acquiring the specifiedicon information. That is, information relating to the currentlyselected personal computer or peripheral device is acquired.

Control then proceeds to step S503. Here the type of information updatespecified is determined. If processing for updating only resourceinformation has been specified, then processing for acquiring resourceinformation is executed with regard to the designated personal computeror peripheral of interest at step S504. If updating solely of status hasbeen designated, on the other hand, then processing for acquiring statusinformation is executed with regard to the personal computer orperipheral at step S505. If processing for updating both statusinformation and resource information has been designated, thenprocessing for acquiring all information is executed with regard to thedesignated personal computer or peripheral of interest in theconventional manner.

Already stored information that is relevant is updated at step S507based upon the information acquired at step S504, S505 or S506, and adisplay that reflects this updated information is presented. The displaycontroller 15 presents the display on the CRT 16 based upon the updatedinformation.

In accordance with the embodiment as described above, a personalcomputer or peripheral device connected to a network is designated toacquire only the desired information, the acquired information isupdated and stored in memory and a display can be presented based uponthis information. As a result, the user can acquire the desiredinformation more quickly and the load upon the network can bealleviated.

Second Embodiment

According to the method of the first embodiment, status information orresource information is acquired separately by designating personalcomputers or peripherals one at a time. According to the method of thisembodiment, if a personal computer or peripheral for which updating ofinformation is desired is designated, processing is executed on agroup-by-group basis. This eliminates the labor involved in designatingnetwork devices individually and allows groups of devices to bedesignated more efficiently. This embodiment is such that even when anewly registered peripheral (a peripheral that has been added on anew)is detected, the personal computer to which this peripheral is connectedis designated to update information on a per-group basis, thereby makingit possible to detect the information concerning the newly registeredperipheral as well without acquiring all available information.

The method of designating a personal computer or peripheral according tothis embodiment is as follows: If a personal computer has beendesignated, the peripherals connected to this personal computer becomeselected as a group. If a workgroup has been designated, each personalcomputer belonging to this group and the peripherals connected to eachof these personal computers become selected for the purpose ofinformation update.

The network configuration of this embodiment is similar to that of FIG.1 and the construction of the data processing apparatus is similar tothat of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a diagram useful in describing group processing used as amethod of designating personal computers and peripherals in the secondembodiment. The overall network in FIG. 6 is indicated at 601.

A workgroup layer, a personal-computer layer and a peripherals layer areorganized hierarchically under the network 601. The workgroup layerincludes workgroups 602, 603 and 604. Thus the personal computers on thenetwork are grouped for managing licensing and access privilege, etc.The personal-computer layer has personal computers 605, 606 and 607which, in this case, belong to the workgroup 602 (workgroup #1),personal computers 608 and 609 which belong to the workgroup 603(workgroup #2), and personal computers 610 and 611 which belong to theworkgroup 604 (workgroup #3).

Peripherals 612, 613, 614 and 615 are connected to the personal computer605 (PC #1), peripherals 616 and 617 are connected to the personalcomputer 606 (PC #2), peripheral 618 is connected to the personalcomputer 607 (PC #3), peripheral 619 is connected to the personalcomputer 608 (PC #4), peripherals 620 and 621 are connected to thepersonal computer 609 (PC #5), peripheral 622 is connected to thepersonal computer 610 (PC #6), and peripherals 623 and 624 are connectedto the personal computer 611 (PC #7).

In a case where personal computer 605 (PC #1) has been designated as adevice for information acquisition in FIG. 6, the personal computer 605and the five peripherals connected to it, namely a printer #1 which isperipheral 612, a printer #2 which is peripheral 613, a scanner #1 whichis peripheral 614 and a facsimile machine #1 which is peripheral 615,become selected as devices for information acquisition. A designateddevice and the peripherals connected to this device are bundled togetheras a selection. Thus the approach to processing taken in this embodimentwhen a personal computer has been designated as a device for informationacquisition is that the personal computer and its peripherals includedin the scope of selection are decided upon as devices of interest.

In a case where workgroup 603 (workgroup #2) has been designated as anobject for which information is to be acquired, the two personalcomputers 608 (PC #4) and 609 (PC #5) that belong to this workgroup andthe three peripherals connected to these personal computers, namely aprinter #4 which is peripheral 619, a facsimile machine #2 which isperipheral 620 and a scanner #4 which is peripheral 621, for a total offive devices, become selected as devices for which information is to beacquired. Thus when a workgroup has been designated as an object forwhich information is to be acquired, the personal computers andperipherals included in this scope of selection are decided upon asdevices of interest.

Group processing according to the second embodiment will be describedwith reference to the flowchart of FIG. 7.

Step S701 in FIG. 7 calls for a decision as to whether or notinformation update processing has been specified. If such processing hasbeen specified (“YES” at step S701), control proceeds to step S502. Ifsuch processing has not been specified (“NO” at step S701), theprocessing of this flowchart is exited.

The designated icon is detected at step S702 to determine the designatedpersonal computer, workgroup or peripheral. This is followed by stepS703, at which it is determined whether the designated icon is that of aworkgroup. If the designated icon is that of a workgroup (“YES” at stepS703), control proceeds to step S704. Here all personal computersbelonging to this workgroup are registered as devices for whichinformation is to be acquired. Next, the total number “N” of personalcomputers belonging to this workgroup is acquired at step S705. Acounter variable I is initialized to 1 at step S706. The countervariable I and the number N of personal computers are compared at stepS707. If I is equal to or less than N (I≦N), control proceeds to stepS708.

The peripherals connected to an Ith personal computer are acquired andall of these are registered at step S708 as devices for whichinformation is to be acquired at this time. This is followed by stepS709, at which the counter variable I is incremented to adopt the nextpersonal computer as the personal computer of interest. Control thenreturns to step S707. When processing regarding all personal computersends, control proceeds to step S716.

If it is found at step S703 that the designated icon is not that of aworkgroup, then control proceeds to step S710 to determine whether thedesignated icon is that of a personal computer. If the designated iconis that of a personal computer (“YES” at step S710), control proceeds tostep S711. Here the personal computer is registered as a device forwhich information is to be acquired. This is followed by step S712, atwhich all of the peripherals connected to this designated personalcomputer are registered as devices for which information is to beacquired. Control then proceeds to step S716.

If it is found at step S710 that the designated icon is not that of apersonal computer (“NO” at step S710), control proceeds to step S713, atwhich it is determined whether the designated icon is that of aperipheral. If the answer is “YES”, then control proceeds to step S714and this peripheral is adopted as a device for which information is tobe acquired.

If it is found that the designated icon is not that of a peripheral(“NO” at step S713), then control proceeds to step S715, where allpersonal computers and peripherals on the network are adopted as devicesfor which information is to be acquired. When the processing of stepsS714 and S715 ends, control proceeds to step S716.

Step S716 is processing for the acquisition of information regarding allpersonal computers and peripherals adopted thus far as devices for whichinformation is to be acquired, and for storing and displaying theacquired information as updated information. As in the first embodiment,status information and resource information may be acquired separatelyor a selection can be made to acquire all of these items of information.

More specifically, the processing for acquiring, storing and displayinginformation indicated at step S716 can be realized by executing theprocessing of the flowchart of FIG. 5 successively for all personalcomputers and peripherals adopted as target devices to which theprocessing of the first embodiment is applied.

Thus, in accordance with this embodiment as described above, when onlyinformation desired to be updated is acquired, stored and displayed upondesignating personal computers and peripherals, it is possible to employgroup processing as the method of designation. Specifically, in a casewhere a workgroup has been designated, the personal computers belongingto this workgroup and the peripherals connected to these personalcomputers are adopted as devices for which information is to beacquired. In a case where a personal computer has been designated, thepersonal computer and the peripherals connected to this personalcomputer are adopted as devices for which information is to be acquired.Merely designating a personal computer makes it possible to acquireinformation concerning peripherals newly connected to this personalcomputer without updating all information. This makes it possible reducethe load upon the network.

Third Embodiment

According to the processing of the second embodiment, information isacquired upon designating a group of personal computers or peripheralsby designating a workgroup. According to a method of updatinginformation according to a third embodiment of the present invention,means for designating the type of network device is provided and, whenstatus information or resource information is acquired in regard todesignation of a group according to the second embodiment, informationis updated only in connection with a device of a designated typecontained in the group.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate examples of menus for designating the type ofperipheral. FIG. 8A is a menu for selecting the entire range ofselections (ALL), only a scanner, only a printer or only a facsimilemachine when status is updated. Similarly, FIG. 8B is a menu that makespossible the same selections when resource information is updated. Thesemenus are examples only and do not limit the types of peripheraldevices.

An example of processing will be described with reference to FIG. 6illustrating the hierarchical structure of devices employed in theforegoing embodiment. For example, assume that personal computer 605 hasbeen selected and that only the printers have been designated by statusupdate processing in accordance with menu item 802 in FIG. 8A. Underthis assumption, the printers contained in the group obtained byselection of the personal computer 605 (PC #1) become the devices forwhich updating of information is desired. That is, status informationconcerning only the printers 612 (printer #1) and 613 (printer #2) isupdated. Similarly, assume that workgroup 602 (workgroup #1) has beenselected and that only the scanners have been designated byresource-information update processing in accordance with menu item 807in FIG. 8B. Under this assumption, the scanners contained in the groupobtained by selection of the workgroup 601 (workgroup #1) become thedevices for which updating of information is desired. That is,resource-information update processing is executed only with regard tothe three scanners 614 (scanner #1), 617 (scanner #2) and 618 (scanner#3).

A method of designating the type of peripheral for which information isto be obtained according to the third embodiment will be described withreference to the flowchart of FIG. 9. This method is such that when aworkgroup, personal computers and peripheral devices have beendesignated, updating is performed only with regard to data limited to adevice of a designated type contained in the selected group.

Step S901 in FIG. 9 calls for a decision as to whether or notinformation update processing has been specified. If such processing hasbeen specified (“YES” at step S901), control proceeds to step S902. Ifsuch processing has not been specified (“NO” at step S901), theprocessing of this flowchart is exited.

At step S902, the personal computer, workgroup or peripheral designatedis decided from the designated icon and the type of the designateddevice is decided from the designated menu item. This is followed bystep S903, at which it is determined whether all of the types of deviceshave been designated by the menus.

If the devices of all types have been designated (“YES” at step S903),then processing similar to that of steps S703 to S718 in FIG. 7 isexecuted at the processing of FIG. 9 is exited.

If a device of a particular type has been designated and not devices ofall types (“NO” at step S903), control proceeds to step S904.

It is determined at step S904 that whether the designated icon is thatof a workgroup. If the designated icon is that of a workgroup (“YES” atstep S904), control proceeds to step S905. Here the total number “N” ofpersonal computers belonging to this workgroup is acquired. A countervariable I is initialized to 1 at step S906. The counter variable I andthe number N of personal computers are compared at step S907. If I isequal to or less than N (I≦N), control proceeds to step S908.

At step S908, only information concerning the device of the designatedtype among the peripherals connected to the Ith personal computer isacquired and the device is registered as a device for which informationis to be acquired. This is followed by step S909, at which the countervariable I is incremented to adopt the next personal computer as thedevice of interest. Control then returns to step S907 so that similardecision and registration processing is executed. When processingregarding all personal computers ends (“YES” at step S907), controlproceeds to step S916.

If it is found at step S904 that the designated icon is not that of aworkgroup (“NO” at step S904), then control proceeds to step S910 todetermine whether the designated icon is that of a personal computer. Ifthe designated icon is that of a personal computer (“YES” at step S910),control proceeds to step S911. Here only information concerning a deviceof the designated type among the peripheral devices connected to thepersonal computer is acquired and the device is registered as a devicefor which information is acquired. Control then proceeds to step S916.

If it is found at step S910 that the designated icon is not that of apersonal computer (“NO” at step S910), control proceeds to step S912, atwhich it is determined whether the designated icon is that of aperipheral. If the answer is “YES”, then control proceeds to step S913,where it is determined whether this peripheral matches the peripheral ofthe designated type. If the answer is “YES”, then this peripheral isregistered at step S914 as a device for which information is to beacquired.

If it is found at step S913 that the peripheral does not match that ofthe designated type (“NO” at step S913), then it is construed that thereis no device for which information is to be acquired and processing isterminated.

If it is found at step S912 that the designated icon is not that of aperipheral (“NO” at step S912), then control proceeds to step S915,where all peripherals of the designated type among all peripherals onthe network are adopted as target devices for which information is to beacquired. When the processing of steps S914 and S915 ends, controlproceeds to step S916.

Step S916 is processing for the acquisition of information regarding allperipherals adopted thus far as target devices for which information isto be acquired, and for storing and displaying the acquired informationas updated information.

Thus, in accordance with the third embodiment as described above, thetype of peripheral for which information is desired to be acquired isdesignated, thus making it possible to execute information acquisitionprocessing solely with regard to a peripheral of a type desired by theuser. Updating of information can be performed in a shorter period oftime and the load upon the network can be alleviated.

Other Embodiments

The present invention can be applied to a system constituted by aplurality of devices (e.g., a host computer, interface, reader, printer,etc.) or to an apparatus comprising a single device (e.g., a copier orfacsimile machine, etc.).

Furthermore, it goes without saying that the object of the invention isattained also by supplying a storage medium (or recording medium)storing the program codes of the software for performing the functionsof the foregoing embodiment to a system or an apparatus, reading theprogram codes with a computer (e.g., a CPU or MPU) of the system orapparatus from the storage medium, and then executing the program codes.In this case, the program codes read from the storage medium implementthe novel functions of the embodiments and the storage medium storingthe program codes constitutes the invention. Furthermore, besides thecase where the aforesaid functions according to the embodiment areimplemented by executing the program codes read by a computer, it goeswithout saying that the present invention covers a case where anoperating system or the like running on the computer performs a part ofor the entire process in accordance with the designation of programcodes and implements the functions according to the embodiments.

It goes without saying that the present invention further covers a casewhere, after the program codes read from the storage medium are writtenin a function expansion card inserted into the computer or in a memoryprovided in a function expansion unit connected to the computer, a CPUor the like contained in the function expansion card or functionexpansion unit performs a part of or the entire process in accordancewith the designation of program codes and implements the function of theabove embodiments.

In a case where the present invention is applied to the above-mentionedstorage medium, program code corresponding to the flowcharts (FIG. 5and/or FIGS. 7, 9) described above would be stored on this storagemedium.

Thus, in accordance with the data processing apparatus, etc., accordingto the present invention as described above, the updating of informationlimited to a device or group desired by the user can be performed inconnection with processing for updating information concerning devicesconnected to a network. This makes it possible to alleviate the load onthe network and to update the necessary information at high speed.

As many apparently widely different embodiments of the present inventioncan be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it isto be understood that the invention is not limited to the specificembodiments thereof except as defined in the appended claims.

1. An information processing apparatus capable of communicating datawith a plurality of kinds of devices, said information processingapparatus comprising: display means for displaying: (i) a first visualmenu including a first list of commands, wherein each of the commandscorresponds to a command for designating updating of resourceinformation for a device or updating of status information for a device,and (ii) a second visual menu including a second list of commands,wherein each of the commands corresponds to one of a plurality of groupsclassified by each kind of the devices; designation means fordesignating one of the commands in the first list included in the firstvisual menu, wherein the designated command corresponds to aninstruction for the updating of the resource information or the updatingof the status information and for designating one of the commands in thesecond list included in the second visual menu, wherein the designatedcommand corresponds to an instruction for one group of the plurality ofgroups, wherein the first visual menu including the first list ofcommands and the second visual menu including the second list ofcommands are displayed as a hierarchical structure, and wherein thedesignated command in the first list and the designated command in thesecond list can be designated successively; and update means forupdating: (i) in a case where a command for the updating of the resourceinformation is designated among the first list of commands, resourceinformation of devices included in the one group acquired by acommunication result between the information processing apparatus andthe devices included in the one group corresponding to the designatedcommand in the second command list, and (ii) in a case where a commandfor the updating of the status information is designated among the firstlist of commands status information of the devices included in the onegroup acquired by a communication result between the informationprocessing apparatus and the devices included in the one groupcorresponding to the designated command in the second command list. 2.The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising selection meansfor selecting a computer, wherein said update means updates informationstored in the information processing apparatus and indicating theperipheral devices which belong to the group corresponding to the visualobject designated by said designation means and connect to the computerselected by said selection means, in a case where the statuses or theresources of the plurality of peripheral devices which belong to thegroup corresponding to the visual object designated by said designationmeans and connect to the computer selected by said selection means havebeen updated.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein saiddisplay means displays a selection window used for designating thevisual object by said designation means in order to display the updateof the statuses or the resources, in a case where the visual object isselected.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprisingselection means for selecting a workgroup which includes a plurality ofcomputers and peripheral devices, wherein said update means updatesinformation stored in the information processing apparatus andindicating statuses or resources of the peripheral devices which belongto the group corresponding to the visual object designated by saiddesignation means and belong to the workgroup selected by said selectionmeans, in a case where the statuses or the resources of the peripheraldevices which belong to the group corresponding to the visual objectdesignated by said designation means and belong to the workgroupselected by said selection means have been updated.
 5. The apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the group includes at least one of a groupincluding a plurality of fax machines, a group including a plurality ofscanners and a group including a plurality of printers.
 6. Aninformation processing method executed by an information processingapparatus capable of communicating data with a plurality of kinds ofdevices, said method comprising: a display step of displaying: (i) afirst visual menu including a first list of commands, wherein each ofthe commands corresponds to a command for designating updating ofresource information for a device or updating of status information fora device and (ii) a second visual menu including a second list ofcommands, wherein each of the commands corresponds to one of a pluralityof groups classified by each kind of the devices; a designation step ofdesignating one of the commands in the first list included in the firstvisual menu, wherein the designated command corresponds to aninstruction for the updating of the resource information or the updatingof the status information, and for designating one of the commands inthe second list included in the second visual menu, wherein thedesignated command corresponds to an instruction for one group of theplurality of groups, wherein the first visual menu including the firstlist of commands and the second visual menu including the second list ofcommands are displayed as a hierarchical structure, and wherein thedesignated command in the first list and the designated command in thesecond list can be designated successively; and an update step ofupdating: (i) in a case where a command for the updating of the resourceinformation is designated among the first list of commands, resourceinformation of devices included in the one group acquired by acommunication result between the information processing apparatus andthe devices included in the one group corresponding to the designatedcommand in the second command list, and (ii) in a case where a commandfor the updating of the status information is designated among the firstlist of commands, status information of the devices included in the onegroup acquired by a communication result between the informationprocessing apparatus and the devices included in the one groupcorresponding to the designated command in the second command list. 7.The method according to claim 6, further comprising a selection step ofselecting a computer, wherein said update step updates informationstored in the information processing apparatus and indicating theperipheral devices which belong to the group corresponding to the visualobject designated in said designation step and connect to the computerselected in said selection step, in a case where the statuses or theresources of the peripheral devices which belong to the groupcorresponding to the visual object designated in said designation stepand connect to the computer selected in said selection step have beenupdated.
 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein said display stepdisplays a selection window used for designating the visual object insaid designation step in order to display the update of the statuses orthe resources, in a case where the visual object is selected.
 9. Themethod according to claim 6, further comprising a selection step ofselecting a workgroup which includes a plurality of computers andperipheral devices, wherein said update step updates information storedin the information processing apparatus and indicating statuses orresources of the peripheral devices which belong to the groupcorresponding to the visual object designated in said designation stepand belong to the workgroup selected in said selection step, in a casewhere the statuses or the resources of the peripheral devices whichbelong to the group corresponding to the visual object designated insaid designation step and belong to the workgroup selected in saidselection step have been updated.
 10. The method according to claim 6,wherein the group includes at least one of a group including a pluralityof fax machines, a group including a plurality of scanners and a groupincluding a plurality of printers.